MERCEDES GLEITZE
Open Water and Endurance Swimmer
Philanthropist
Born: 18 November 1900, Brighton, Sussex
Died: 9 February 1981, London
Spouse: Patrick Joseph Carey
Children: Elizabeth Atchison
Doloranda Pember
Fergus Carey
Parents: Anna (neé Kerr) and Heinrich Gleitze
This website has been set up primarily to complement the publication of a comprehensive biography covering Mercedes’ childhood, her pioneering sea career, and the institution of her charity.
All her open water swims, successful or otherwise, are charted in the biography, including her many attempts to cross the turbulent waters of the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland. However, additional coverage and witness statements relating to some of the swims might also be of interest to today’s wild swimmers - especially those who have attempted the same crossings and wish to compare notes. These complementary documents which - due to lack of space - could not be included in the biography, can be accessed via the links, together with details of her endurance swims in corporation pools.
The biography should also be of interest to those studying the emancipation of women in the early part of the twentieth century. Mercedes was one of an emerging group of females who publicly challenged the premise that only men could take part in sport, and by so doing they helped to break through a sporting glass ceiling.
